So Pam arrived safe and sound 2 weeks ago, feeling whacked from working hard recently I think initially the sights, sounds and smells of Delhi were a little over awing, arriving late at night was good as it meant she could sleep soundly before we hit Delhi the next day.
On Saturday 24th we visited Khan Market, a favourite shopping centre with the expats, but not realising that we had to go upstairs we seemed to miss most of what the area has to offer. Never mind a quick auto rickshaw ride to Janpath marlet soon had us digging not so deep in our pockets to buy a few pairs of earings and rummage through the bargain market stalls. Feeling flaked out we returned home, for a nap, before heading out on the town.
Originally we were going to a bar called the Smoke House, but while on the way there Inder received a phone call and all our plans changed...we ended up going as VIP guests to Delhi's hottest night club 'F Bar' courtesy of a friend of his who happens to be one of India's biggest garment manufacturing exporters. Thank heavens fpr the VIP entry as the cover charge to get in, at 11pm is 3000 INR (about 35quid), not only that we also VIP entry to the club below, saving us another 2000 bucks (25 quid). Drinks were not cheap, but worth it having gained such exclusive access. Thank heavens Pam arrives with a wardrobe of lovely clothes for me to borrow - some how I knew that my backpacking clobber was not going to fit the bill!
The next day saw us nurse our heads as we tackled Old Delhi, wondering about the narrow stinky lanes (food, and urine mostly - nice), then onto India's biggest Mosque, Jama Masjid. Here Pam donned a sarong (50 INR) and we paid the 'camera fee' (200INR) and took off our flip flops for a quick peak. The stones were hot to walk on, but the openness of the grounds meant the breeze and lack of traffic noise kept us cool and calm. We exited, and found our flip flops where a guy tried to charge us 50 Rupees for 'looking after them. Becoming used to the constant battle to prevent ourselves being fleeced of cash we flatly refused and made a getaway. It is bad enough that tourists get charged comparatively exorbitant amount to see the sights, without chancers trying to weedle more pennies from our pockets.....
Sunday night was quite where we ate home food, woth Pam getting to grips with eating here dahl, curry and chapatti with her right hand only!
On Monday we booked a car and driver to toke us to Agra and the Taj Mahal. The 250km journey took 4 1/2 hrs each way, but well worth the journey. Ticket price was 700 bucks for us goras (white people) while the Indians pay about 50. I know it's proportional to peoples earnings and in the case of the Taj I really didn't mind paying so much, but when we got to the Fatipur Sikri, a old ruin of Mugal temples, mosques and palaces the hawkers really were unbearable and Pam and I soon changed from smiling, polite tourists to curt and frowning ones.
That asside, the Taj Mahal really was awesome, with a cooling breeze sweeping over the grass and water feature out front. I can't describe it too much, as we have all seen the pictures and it is just the same and but more beautiful. One funny thing was that of the hundreds of Indian holiday makers (school holidays), many of them were more concerned with taking pictures of Pam and I than of the beautiful Taj Mahal. I guess our fair skin and bright blonde hair was a spectacle to many! We took a fair few pictures of the building and a couple of silly ones too - recognise the bench?
Another funny occurrence happened earlier in the day, when we sat down at 'Luckys' cafe (recommended by the Good Book, of course) brunch. We arrived at 10.30 am, ordered a thalii and a stuffed paratha, some juice and tea, had a look at the Taj from the rooftop, and then perused the 'guests comments book' while waiting for our food. We waited almost 2 hours, 2 HOURS I TELL YOU, for our meal to come, with Harry the proprietor popping out, dripping in sweat, every 10 minutes or so to assure us that it would be "5 minutes". At least the food was fresh, as we had seen the kitchen boy run out and buy the ingredients. At least the thali was worth waiting for, unlike the American couple who had waited almost as long for a plain omelette each!
A good day had by both, and a good nights sleep was definitely in order, in preparation for our next adventure......
(This one is at the Palace complex at Fatepur Sikri, where religious variety was truely the order of the day. The 'King' had 3 wives, one Muslim, one Hindu and one Christian.)
(Knots being tied and wishes being made inside a sacred building within the Mosque at Fatepur Sikri. (50 bucks for the string and some petals to scatter from a teacher around the corner...we saw Indians giving more like 5 Rupees for the same pleasure out the front of the mini temple like building. Doh! Anyway, if our wishes come true we have to return to untie the knots.....now, which one was mine?!)
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